The Glitch
by MetalGeneral
Summary: In a timeline where Miki finds out Akira's secret as Devilman early on, a decision is made regarding her and both Akira and Ryo. Perhaps a healthy relationship can work out between the three of them after all? Miki is determined to make it happen.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings** : Later chapters will contain some graphic descriptions of violence. This story also has internalized and some outward homophobia in it, due to the time period that Devilman takes place in. This does not indicate my own views on homosexuality and polyamory, as I fully support both.

* * *

Over many eons, there had been numerous timelines that repeated and recreated themselves without fail. Different universes had been created, different realities visited and destroyed, all for the sake of a punishment laid down by God himself. God's intention had originally been for a singular timeline and event to repeat itself over and over again, and while initially it had, slips in time occurred. Things changed. Somewhere along the line, someone would make a single change—a single mistake—and the entirety of the timeline would go off the rails. God had seen it happen more than enough times for him to count, and had allowed it to happen.

Thus, there was the creation of multiple universes and different realities. Some so very similar to each other, while others varied greatly. There was never any indication of how any one universe and any one timeline within it would go about its events, but there was always one thing that connected them all; the one thing that always remained the same no matter what: failure. Tragedy. That was his son's punishment after all, to repeat the cycle of failure, loss, and tragedy for all eternity. He held no sympathy for the fallen angel, and would allow his endless cycle to continue the creation of as many universes and realities as it took. No one defied him as Lucifer once had, and no matter the results of such an endless time loop as this, the punishment would remain.

Even at that very moment, infinite timelines were beginning to repeat themselves, with the occasional new universe or reality following along behind them. One timeline in particular appeared to be following the usual turn of events—that is to say, the _original_ events that began this madness. God had better things to do in his realm of creation though, and wouldn't bother to follow the events of a story he had seen more than enough times in his endless existence. Even if something were to change, it wasn't as though it could possibly impact the timeline enough to create a new reality or universe as he had seen numerous times before.

So, God moved on to better, more important things, leaving the timeline to itself.

Miki Makimura had seen a lot of things in her life. Or, at least she liked to think she had. There had been more than enough times in her life that she had to stand up and fight, not just for herself, but for Akira as well. In their childhood, Akira had been such a meek, nonassertive guy, and bullying was to be expected. So, Miki took it upon herself to protect him. You didn't gain a name like "Miki the Hands" without such a reason. Admittedly, she never enjoyed the tough protector role, always having a secret wish to be the damsel in distress for once, but she liked Akira, and their friendship was worth it. So what if she had gained a reputation as some rebellious tomboy?

People, for the most part, left her alone, and Akira had usually been safe when in her presence. Still, she couldn't have explained the absolute relief and joy she had felt the day that Akira had done a complete one-eighty and beat the crap out of Dosu-Roku and his gang, protecting _her_ for once. Finally, she could be the happy, plucky girl that she had always wanted to be. She could have the one moment of damsel-ness that she always secretly wanted. Akira, the sweet boy he had always been, was standing up for himself and being all around _cool_ , something she never thought she'd use to describe him.

For a good while later, she sometimes wondered what had caused such a change in Akira. The old Akira wasn't completely gone, no. He would become flustered whenever she tried to give him a hard time. He would still play all of those dorky games with Tare when asked, and still seemed to thoroughly enjoy doing so. He just had a cool, tough exterior to go along with that dorkiness, and he wasn't afraid to pick a fight when needed. It was an odd combination to say the least, but Miki liked it. It was almost like she actually had someone on her level to relate to (never mind the fact that Akira had far exceeded her level in the span of a day).

With everything that had happened recently, Miki should have been able to say that she was happy with her almost-relationship with Akira, but she just couldn't. There was one glaring issue standing between them, and how Akira didn't see it was beyond her. He was so dense sometimes! There was a relationship. To Akira, it probably looked like a relationship between himself and Miki, but Miki knew better. It was a relationship between herself, Akira, and their third wheel.

Miki wasn't dumb, and was leagues more perceptive than her idiot of an almost-boyfriend, Akira. Ryo Asuka had a massive crush on his best friend, and Akira was so, so blind to it. Whenever Miki thought she was getting closer to Akira, one step closer to having one of them ask each other out (and it wasn't going to be her. Nope. She was tired of being the assertive one), Akira would back away. He would back away, and somehow the reason _always_ had something to do with Ryo. Miki's showing off a cool pendant to Akira and joking around with him in earnest? Akira runs off because of Ryo…somehow. Walking down the street and to the park on a pseudo-date? Gotta find Ryo. It was astounding really.

At first, Miki had been admittedly jealous of Akira and Ryo's relationship. All Ryo had to do was show up and ask for Akira, and Akira would jump at the call and follow him without question. Nevermind Miki standing right next to him, hanging out with him on their _planned_ outing. As it continued on though, she lost interest in what little jealousy she had. It was odd to admit such a thing, but that was what happened.

Ryo had always been strange, and to that day Miki was always confused by the situation that brought him and Akira together. Despite Akira and Miki being childhood friends, Akira had obviously gone to a different school than she did before they began high school. That was how he met his best friend. According to Akira, Ryo had always been shy, but when Miki first met him, it seemed less like he was shy and more like he was antisocial and aggressive. His attitude had been frightening to those around him, resulting in him having very little friends. It probably didn't help that he suffered similar bullying issues to Akira (though he was bullied over his pretty boy looks, not over having a nonassertive attitude), so perhaps that was where the antisocial part of him stemmed from? Miki hadn't known him well enough back then to say for sure. Either way, Akira had befriended him out of pity (from what Miki gathered, he had practically forced his friendship onto the boy, surprisingly), and from there they quickly became attached to each other.

Over the years, Ryo had mellowed out considerably. He still had moments where everything about him just felt _off_ , but that could have been from pure social awkwardness and his previously aggressive attitude. Whenever he was over, he avoided eye contact with Miki's parents and tried to be as polite as possible. That was pure shyness right there, but then he would turn around and play the same dorky games with Tare that Akira did. Those three got along famously, and the dorkier side of Ryo had not been something Miki had been expecting.

It didn't take long for Miki to figure out Ryo's little crush. As the years went on and Ryo and Akira continued to get closer and closer, it was so painfully obvious. It explained why he only truly opened up to Akira, despite sometimes being seen around others such as Dosu-Roku and his gang. It also explained his unhidden distaste for Miki herself. While Miki had started off jealous of Ryo, she knew that he was jealous of her, too. They both liked and were close to the same guy after all, so it was natural, she supposed. Unlike Miki though, whose jealousy faded away after some realization, Ryo's dislike of her never truly went away. He tried to be civil towards her, but avoided her whenever possible. That was it, really.

Ryo, Miki wanted to believe, was a problem, but saying such a thing felt almost wrong. She liked Akira, she really did, and while she always gave him a hard time, she did want him to be happy. As such, if she and Akira finally got together, it wouldn't feel right. They'd get together, and Miki would never be able to shake the feeling that she was cutting Akira off from something very important to him. Would she be comfortable giving him up just to keep Ryo around, though? Conceited as it sounded, she knew she was important to Akira as well, and if he and _Ryo_ got together, then Ryo would be cutting Akira off from something important to him. So, the three of them held together their tentative relationship of almost-boyfriend, almost-girlfriend, and romantic third wheel.

Miki really truly _wanted_ a relationship with Akira though, and wasn't happy with their current setup. How could she solve their dilemma, though? It wasn't as though three people could date each other. That was taboo, wasn't it? Then again, who ever said anything about them was normal? Miki was an aggressive, protective girl who wanted nothing more than to be protected herself; Ryo was a strange, antisocial man who felt _off_ in every way imaginable; and Akira was part demon for crying out loud!

Yes, Miki knew Akira was a Devilman. She quickly found out after being nearly drowned by a demon herself. Akira had rescued her, despite her initial fear that he had been possessed by a demon and out to kill her. He had then been grabbed by the pretty demon with wings on her head and taken away, leaving a half-conscious Miki to worry herself half to death about his safety. The next day, everything had seemingly gone back to normal. The damage to her house was gone, and both Tare and her parents were acting as though nothing had happened. She confronted Akira about the issue, and everything had come out, Akira in near relief as he told the tale.

So yes, she knew about Akira's fusion with a demon—a powerful demon at that!—and she accepted it. She accepted everything about him. He was her savior after all. He protected her from Dosu-Roku's gang, and now demons themselves! The longer things went on, the cooler and stronger Akira got. The fact that she knew everything, though, felt wrong. She would look at Tare and her parents, thinking back to how they had forgotten everything from that night, and have this inherent feeling of _wrongness_ wash over her. She supposed that she wasn't meant to remember. From what Akira had assumed, the demons might have erased her parents' and Tare's memories in order to keep their existence secret. With that in mind, she really shouldn't have remembered anything, and yet here they were.

This was where Miki met her current dilemma. Demons were threatening mankind, and Akira was humanity's savior in the form of Devilman. Despite this, she couldn't stop thinking about how to make their trio happier. It hadn't ever felt like such a problem before, but now humanity's existence was hanging in the balance and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. Akira fought off the demons as one himself, and Ryo had the knowledge (and weaponry) to at least assist in the fighting. What could Miki do? Sit back and look pretty at home. Yes, she wanted to be the girl with a badass boyfriend who could protect her, losing that rebellious tomboy image, but in the end she was still Miki the Hands. She refused to take anyone's shit and dished out just as much in return.

At the rate things were going, she'd be more of a nuisance than anything if she tried to fight alongside Akira and Ryo. Protecting Ryo was already proving a handful, if the many times Akira ran out after him was any indication. Having to protect her on top of that would likely be too much, especially when she couldn't give anything back in return like Ryo could. That being said, how could she help out without unintentionally making Akira's life more difficult?

She had been thinking about these things since she first discovered and accepted Akira's secret as a Devilman. As always, she kept returning to the same solution over and over again. Akira would be happier if he and Miki started a relationship. She couldn't necessarily help on the battlefield, but Akira did still have a life outside of fighting demons. Unfortunately, if she and Akira started a relationship, Akira's relationship with Ryo would become strained, and Miki didn't want that. That would do the opposite of what she wanted, which was to make Akira's life happier and easier. If she was somehow able to get Akira's dense ass in a relationship with Ryo though, the same issue would arise.

Miki was a little bit selfish, and she accepted that about herself. She didn't want to live a life without Akira, and she knew having him be in a relationship with Ryo with cause problems between herself and Akira. That left the third option, which was a three-way relationship: Akira gets together with _both_ Miki and Ryo. Once again, same as always, she had to remind herself that a polygamous relationship was not normal, at least not in many peoples' eyes. It was an uncomfortable thought, not fitting the norm, but again, none of them fit the norm in the first place. Miki the tomboy, Akira the Devilman, and Ryo, who liked guys. What was a polyamorous relationship on top of all of that? If someone tried to give them a hard time over it, all three of them could easily kick that person's ass. Ryo wasn't above threatening people with _guns_ of all things either, so yeah. They could pull it off.

The issue, as always, was Ryo himself. Ryo didn't like Miki, and Miki had never put much effort into getting along with him. If Akira was going to get with the both of them, Miki wanted to at least make a relationship work between herself and Ryo as well. She supposed it didn't have to be that way, but she didn't want the strain and tension that she knew would forever be between the two of them.

Thinking more about it, Miki could totally date Ryo. He was pretty, she would always freely admit that. With as much as he tried to act cold and serious, he was just as big of a socially awkward dork as Akira was, so there was some familiarity there. Really, the only issue was their sexual compatibility. Would Ryo even be interested in dating a girl? Did he only have eyes for other boys? Would he only accept Akira?

Well, only thinking about it would get her nowhere, and those two idiots she was planning on dating weren't ever going to get anywhere on their own, so it wouldn't hurt to try. She had her sights set on something—something that could potentially make all three of them happy—and she would try like hell to make it work out. It didn't even take her long to figure out the first step in accomplishing her goal. She liked Akira, Ryo liked Akira, and she knew if she put in the effort, she could come to like Ryo as well. The first step in her plan was to get Ryo to like her as well. That would be tricky, if not impossible, but Miki was nothing if not persistent.

That's where she was now, as she stood at the corner of a building, trying to eavesdrop on a conversation between Ryo and Akira. When she had showed up at first to walk home with Akira, he had told her to wait and let him speak with Ryo first. Akira was irritated it seemed, so it wasn't surprising that he had snapped at her when she had tried to rush him. Still, it gave her time to think, and it occurred to her that she could use this moment to get closer with Ryo. She had been thinking about the three of them together for almost a week now, and was fully invested in getting along with him.

From what she could gather from the two's hushed conversation, Ryo had tried to confront a demon by himself, only to wake up on the street alone with little recollection of what had happened. Akira was scolding (possibly making fun of) him for attempting such a thing on his own, saying that he was lucky to be alive. Miki's face held a mischievous smile at this. Akira was irritated, and she knew Ryo would be embarrassed and ashamed at his mistake. This was a definite opportunity.

"Akira, are you done yet?" Miki interrupted, bursting around the corner to join them.

"Miki, what did I—"

"I need to borrow Ryo, so hurry up!" she interrupted Akira yet again.

"Miki, I—wait what?" Akira paused, staring at her as though she had grown a second head.

Ryo stood in front of Akira, for once not giving her suspicious or annoyed side-eyed glances. Instead, he appeared equally thrown off by her declaration, because since when did Miki ever want to talk to _Ryo_?

Perhaps it was the shock of it all, or perhaps Ryo was just giving her the benefit of the doubt, but she somehow got him alone. They left Akira and went to sit in a small park, Ryo stiff and firmly not looking anywhere near her. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and Miki wasn't sure how to fix that. Well, she was good at one thing, that was for sure, and she mine as well work off of that. Just talk him into it. Talk him into being friendlier with her. She could do that.

"Alright," she said, trying to hold back a sigh. "So, we both like Akira."

Start it off blunt. Just thrust him right into it.

Ryo remained quiet, stiffening even more if that was possible.

"I love him to death, but he's a dense moron. If you and I," she jabbed a finger at Ryo, "don't make the first move, then nothing will ever happen between any of us."

There was a discrete swallow from Ryo, who finally decided to look at her. The look in his eyes was wary, though irritated.

"What are you trying to get at, Miki? I'm not going to fight with you over Akira."

"You clearly weren't listening," she responded. "I said _you and I_ need to make a move. Not just you, or me, but _we_. Do you get what I'm saying?" She gave him a cheeky smile, hoping he wasn't as dense as Akira was. Otherwise she was going to have her work cut out for her.

Ryo raised a questioning eyebrow at her, the irritation in his eyes never fading. "You want us to _both_ date Akira?"

"Now you're getting it!" Miki clapped a hand on his shoulder, the rigidity in his body never fading. "Akira's not going to be happy with just one of us, and you know it. _But_ , if the both of us were to go out with him, don't you think he'd be just the happiest guy ever?"

Ryo looked away, bringing his shoulders up in an attempt to hide his face. Miki's mischievous smile only widened at that as she pulled her hand away. He wasn't going to admit to his crush on Akira, but she knew.

"Akira doesn't like men," was Ryo's only response.

"Seriously? I said he was dense. People think guys liking other guys is weird, but they also think a relationship with three people is weird. Akira, as cool and tough as he's gotten lately, is a goody two shoes who needs a reality check. You're both off trying to save the world and whatnot, and yet we all have this awkward normal life going on between us. You and I," Miki gestured between them, getting his attention again, "need to work some sense into him. You don't like me because Akira likes me, but honestly, I don't mind you, and if you're up to it, we could live a happy life together with Akira. It doesn't have to be one or the other."

"You're saying this like it's that easy. You and I don't even get along."

Miki resisted the urge to groan. She knew he was going to be difficult. Unfortunately, getting through to Ryo was going to be leagues easier than getting through Akira's thick skull. They needed their combined efforts to get through to that man.

" _You_ purposefully try not to get along with me! I'm open to it!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Would you even be open to trying? You and I are stuck together thanks to Akira. We don't need to make it so hard on ourselves."

Ryo remained silent, putting a hand to his head. Miki wasn't sure what he was thinking at the moment, and despite what she was saying, she didn't think he'd agree with her so easily. She was prepared to fight for his friendship.

As Miki opened her mouth to say something else, Ryo raised his head back up and gave her an uncertain look. "Alright," he began, much to Miki's surprise, "I can try to get along with you better. The whole dating thing though, I'm not so sure about that."

"Right, I mean, you like Akira. I like Akira too, but I'm open to being with you. For Akira's sake, you know," she immediately added.

"So we wouldn't include anyone else?"

"Akira doesn't _like_ anyone else like he likes us. I can tell you that much. You and I are like the two most important people in his life." This time she finally sighed. "Besides, I want to help you guys. You're both off risking your lives against all of these demons, and I'm stuck at home being useless. It's so, well, cliché." She paused, putting a finger to her chin. "Well, playing the matchmaker girlfriend is also kind of cliché, but maybe I'm just that kind of person." Another sigh. "Whatever!" She turned to Ryo, putting her hands to his still tense shoulders. "You and me? Friends, right?"

He put a hand to one of Miki's wrists, likely to remove the hand from his shoulder, but stopped. "I don't think friendship works that way."

"Well, Akira told me that's the only way he was able to befriend you, so I'm going with it. Forced friendship!"

"And forced dating?"

"Only if you're into that."

Gaze firmly stuck on Miki's hand on his shoulder, Ryo appeared to be contemplating the issue.

"Akira's the only person I've ever really befriended."

"Yeah, I kind of got that," Miki deadpanned, grip on his shoulders tightening. "But, you have me, the expert in all things people related! You'll be best friends with me in no time, alright? Just put some effort into it and stop being so pissy at me for liking Akira!"

Ryo agreed. Somehow Miki got him to agree with little resistance whatsoever, and needless to say, she was thrilled. This would begin what she hoped would be a beautiful relationship. Granted, she still had no idea if Ryo was solely into guys or not, but he never brought that issue up. No, it was the fact that Akira _wasn't_ into guys that he brought up instead, and that gave Miki hope. Akira was dense. He would be happy with Ryo, so she knew the whole "straight" issue was not actually an issue. Once she figured out if she could make a friendship between herself and Ryo work, she'd proceed onto phase two of her little plot: start a relationship with Ryo Asuka, and then get Akira Fudo to join in. Perhaps it was a bit unorthodox, but she had a feeling she could make it work. She was Miki Makimura after all, and she knew those two idiots better than they knew themselves. A three-way relationship? Piece of cake.

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 **A/N** : In an attempt to flesh out the Devilman world and have more to work with, I've taken lots of influence and references from Amon: The Darkside of Devilman, Shin Devilman, and Neo Devilman. The Amon references are obvious, but can anyone guess the references to Shin and Neo Devilman?


	2. Chapter 2

In all honesty, Ryo found Miki annoying. Yes, it did, in part, have to do with her closeness to Akira, but her personality wasn't anything to speak home about either. She was brash, loud, and selfish. The fact that she always tried to take up all of Akira's time and hog him for herself only made things worse…and yeah, okay, he was just horribly jealous of her. There didn't seem to be anything about her that made Ryo want to actually put up with her, and yet he had agreed to be her friend.

Perhaps it was because she was showing more interest in Akira's wellbeing rather than her own for once, or maybe it was simply the fact that she was trying to include Ryo at all. Admittedly, he appreciated what she was trying to do. Maybe she _was_ only thinking about herself in some strange way, but it certainly didn't seem so. Say what you will about Miki, Ryo couldn't ignore how she did honestly look out for Akira and want him to be happy. _For Akira's sake, you know,_ was what she had said. So maybe, just maybe, he could find it in himself to make this work out. He loved Akira, but knew that Akira seemed to only have eyes for Miki. Yet here Miki was, saying that Akira couldn't be happy unless he was with _both_ of them. What exactly was it Miki saw that he and Akira couldn't?

He sat in the small café Miki had brought him to, staring pointedly out the window beside him. Despite what Miki had said before, that they were going to work on being friends, their outing felt more like a first date than anything. She was asking about his interests, if he had anyone else he liked besides Akira, what he did when Akira wasn't around. Really, she was making it seem as though his whole life revolved around Akira, though he supposed she wasn't wrong. After the death of his father, he had no one else besides his best friend, so it made sense that he subconsciously clung to him.

Though he was trying to escape Miki's presence by staring out the window, he could feel her eyes boring into the side of his head. Glancing aside, he allowed himself just a peek, seeing that indeed, she was peering at him over the edge of her coffee cup. She finished taking her sip and began putting it down as Ryo looked away once more, and he desperately wished Akira was there to put some familiarity into the situation. As much as he hated to admit it, he had absolutely no idea how to interact with other people, let alone Miki.

"You know, this isn't going to go anywhere if you're just going to ignore me," Miki said, calling him out.

He brought his attention back to her, sort of, staring down at his own, untouched tea.

"You said you were going to at least _attempt_ to make this work, Ryo. This has been a pretty one-sided conversation, you know."

"I thought you liked hearing your own voice," Ryo muttered without thinking.

"Seriously?" Miki said under her breath, trying so valiantly to reign in her anger. The girl had a short fuse, and Ryo knew he was toeing the line between a civil conversation and getting smacked. Miki breathed in a sighed, hand tightening around her coffee cup. "Maybe if you actually _said_ something to me, you wouldn't feel that way!"

He didn't say anything for the moment, not wanting to admit that he had no idea what to say to her, let alone keep a conversation going. He jumped as money was slammed on the table, Miki still attempting to keep her annoyance under check. She made to stand and started walking out of the café. Ryo reluctantly followed, leaving a good distance between the two as they walked down the street.

They were silent, Miki stomping down the street, this time being the one to pointedly ignore Ryo. It was astounding how a single comment and some silence could cause the girl to storm out, but based off what Ryo knew of her personality, it shouldn't have been that shocking. The question was, why was he still following her around? The date seemed like it was over, and yet he felt almost obligated to stay there with her. He promised he'd at least _try_ to get along with her, even if he wasn't trying all that hard at the moment. The least he could do was stay with her until she told him to go away.

They sat at a corner, waiting for the crosswalk to change for them as Miki finally spoke.

"I don't get how Akira puts up with you! You act so calm and natural around him, but around anyone else you're so damn closed off!" Miki turned to him, arms crossed and an exasperated look on her face. "Are you _that_ obsessed with Akira?"

Ryo winced, because he didn't know if she had a point or not. Akira was the only person he knew how to open up around. Did that make him obsessed?

He took in a deep breath, eyes focused firmly on the ground. Miki was trying to help him. That was it, really. Perhaps the first step in opening up to someone was to admit that he didn't know how. "I don't really…" he took another deep breath, looking off to the side. "I don't know _how_ to open up. I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

Since he refused to look at Miki's face, he didn't know exactly how she responded to that. When he heard a sudden snort of amusement though, he couldn't help but look back up at her. She had her mouth covered by her hand, muffling the laughter that was shaking most of her body. So, she thought that was funny? He wasn't sure what about that was so funny, but didn't say anything about it, just let her giggles continue until they subsided shortly afterwards.

"Right, that's right!" Miki finally spout out, a few stray giggles coming through. "You're just an awkward guy! Akira always did say how shy you were."

He was sure the look he was making didn't grace his face well, as he didn't particularly enjoy being as confused as he was, but he couldn't help it. "I don't think I'm all that shy."

"Oh, sure. You just admitted that you don't know how to open up to people, and you clearly didn't know what to say to me at the café. I just have to be patient!" Determination shown in her eyes, which honestly frightened Ryo a bit. "Okay!"

With that, he found an arm looped around his and Miki Makimura suddenly close by his side.

"We're going to try this again!" she announced, dragging him off somewhere else.

He was tense beside her, but tried to force himself to relax under her touch. If they were going to date, then he shouldn't be so uncomfortable with her. It felt like she was already trying to date him anyways, so he just had to keep repeating the same thing to himself. Just try. Just give it a chance. Maybe he'd eventually see what Akira saw in her.

As they walked down the street to a currently unknown destination, Miki tightened her arm around his, looking over at his face. "Let's try something different. Maybe we could say all the things we like about each other!"

He gave her a strange look at that, but chose to go along with it. "Okay, I guess."

"Alright, I'll go first to help you out," she supplied. "So, you're very pretty. You need to show me how you get your eyelashes to look so nice!"

"My eyelashes? I don't do anything with them."

The look on her face dropped, an annoyed glance gracing it. "I figured as much. That just isn't fair. Okay," she recovered, "so another thing I like is how similar you are to Akira sometimes! You guys do the weirdest things when you're together, and, you know, I do have a soft spot for complete dorks, so… Yeah. You're assertive, unlike Akira used to be. I mean, you pointed a freaking gun at a bunch of guys without flinching! Plus, I think you're a bit blunt like me, so that's something. You tell people what you're thinking even if it probably shouldn't be said."

"And that's a good thing? I get annoyed whenever you do that."

She gave him a humph, tightening her grip on his arm again. "Hypocrite. Learn to appreciate yourself!"

"Right. I'll get right on that."

"So, I think I started off pretty well. What do you like about me?"

He paused, because he'd never actually thought about Miki in a positive light before. It had always been about her downsides and 'what does Akira see in her?' and all that. When he stopped to truly think about it though, he started understanding the point of this little exercise she had them doing.

"You're not afraid to stand up for yourself?" he began, looking over at her warily. Admittedly, he was worried he was going to say something she wouldn't agree with and get smacked. "You don't take anyone's shit, and," okay, maybe he _did_ like how blunt she was, "and you're not afraid to speak your mind."

" _Hypocrite_ ," Miki giggled under her breath.

He sighed, a small amount of embarrassment filtering in. "I guess, I don't know."

"Oh, come on!" she complained. "I said a lot more about you! Don't give up!"

"Maybe I just don't like that much about you."

Instead of anger, a cheeky smile appeared on Miki's face. "You sure? You haven't done much about me dragging you around by the arm, yet. Come on. Anything at all? My looks, my interests, my taste in men?" She nudged him, that knowing grin on her face never faltering.

Ryo sighed, giving in. "We both like Akira. There."

"Forget Akira. This is about us!"

"You were clearly hinting at us liking Akira there."

"Pssh, you don't know that."

He grumbled, looking up at the sky as though God or some deity or something might help him out. "I don't know anything about you. You seem to know me a lot better than I know you."

"That's because we were supposed to get to know each other at the café, but you barely said anything. We'll fix that once we reach the bookstore!"

So, he finally knew where she was bringing him for their next…date?...but it appeared that the same interrogation was going to occur there as at the café. Perhaps he would actually attempt to speak to her though, as awkward as it might be. Maybe he could take it as a challenge. Prove to her that he wasn't as shy or awkward as Akira supposedly said.

Their time at the bookstore went significantly better than their time at the café, though Ryo was beginning to feel burned out from all of the interaction he'd had with Miki that day. They talked, and he repeated the same questions she had asked him, finding out that she enjoyed swimming. Working out in general seemed to be something she enjoyed, but she talked more about her love for swimming than anything. Along with that, she liked to dance supposedly, though Ryo had never seen her do such a thing before.

Really, not much about what he learned was all that shocking, but he noticed Miki's blatant attempts to avoid talking about Akira. At first he wasn't sure why this was, but it dawned on him shortly afterwards. The only thing relating them to each other was Akira, and this was their attempt at getting along without his influence. So naturally, Miki didn't want to keep talking about him. Really, he appreciated that, because it made it seem less about Akira, and more like Miki was actually interested in him as a person, and that didn't happen often with Ryo. He tended to scare people off.

So maybe, just maybe, he was enjoying that someone was actually trying to get along with him. Even if it was Miki, who he had always been annoyed by. She was being so bearable at the moment though, and perhaps he had been looking at her the wrong way the whole time. Was he truly interested in dating her though? Before, he had never even considered dating a girl, but that could have been some Akira-induced filter going on. Did he ever think about dating any other guy besides Akira before? It was odd to be considering something like that, as he had never even thought about it much in the past. He just happened to like Akira, because Akira had been there for him and was able to get him to come out of his shell. No one else had ever done that before. If Miki could accomplish the same thing, could he bring himself to love her, too?

There was no definite answer to that, and all he was accomplishing was confusing himself, and the social burnout he was feeling wasn't helping things. Miki appeared to notice this too, and pointed it out.

"What, are you done hanging out with me already?" she asked.

He gave a soft laugh at that, suddenly recalling their earlier conversation. The one where they mentioned what they liked about each other.

"You know, I like how good you are at reading people."

She paused, confusion overtaking her face before realization dawned. Then she squeed, a smile overtaking her face.

"What else?" she demanded from him.

He shut his mouth tightly, uncomfortable with her sudden rapt attention, but he figured he was in this for the long haul. "You're more, I guess, perceptive than you look. I never considered that you thought much about anything besides Akira, but you've been purposefully avoiding talking about him since we got here. You don't back down once you have your sights set on something." Slowly, he trailed off, embarrassment overtaking him. Miki's attention was too much.

"Yes! Good job!" she cheered, hand slamming down on a table in triumph. "You're getting better at this!"

"What exactly is this?" he responded, not knowing what else to say.

"I'm teaching you to be better with people! I'm going to get you to open up to me, and you're going to like it!"

Hefting up a bag of books she had gathered, she took his arm once again, pulling him from the bookstore and back down the street. A confident grin never left her face, and Ryo had to wonder if saying more things he liked about her was truly that impressive. Miki did seem to be the type to be easily excitable though, so maybe that was something he'd just have to get used to. Either way, talking with Miki had been interesting. She was a vastly different person from Akira, and he still had no idea how they got along so well, but when he thought about it, it made some sense. Akira had practically forced him into a friendship, and now Miki was doing the same thing.

Only time would tell if the two of them could actually make something like this work.


	3. Chapter 3

Some sort of demon had attacked an old couple a few blocks from the Makimura residence, and of course Akira had taken it upon himself to dispose of it. He had been itching for a fight for a while now, and the demons had been laying low since he and Dosu-Roku's gang took a bunch out together. The demon vaguely resembled a dog-like creature, "vaguely" being a generous description of it. The old man had had his leg nearly torn off, while the woman had been knocked out when her had smashed against the pavement. Akira had done his job as a Devilman, calling out his inner demon and tearing the dog-like thing to shreds. Blood and guts had spilled everywhere, something resembling a stomach landing flat on the old woman's head.

With the demon dead and Akira back to his old self, he wasn't sure if he should feel sick or amused over the mess, but ignored it in favor of running to a payphone to call an ambulance. After that was done with, he began to make his way back to the Makimura residence. If past experiences were anything to go off of, then everyone from a demon attack forgot about it shortly afterwards. The only exceptions so far had been Miki and Dosu-Roku's gang, so he wasn't too worried about the old couple ratting his identity as a Devilman out.

The urge to fight and kill had subsided within him thanks to the encounter, and Akira couldn't help the immense relief he felt from that. Maybe he'd be able to head home and relax, or maybe even play those make-believe games Tare liked so much. Entertaining Miki's younger brother was always a fun way to spend his downtime, especially when Miki herself wasn't around.

Akira paused with his hand on the handle of the Makimuras' front door. Miki had been acting a little strange lately, or at least that's what he thought. When he asked Tare and her parents about it, they hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but they did ask him to keep an eye out on her. The thing was, she just hadn't been spending as much time with him as she usually did. Every day after school she was usually there to walk home with him, and they would often work on their homework together. This had been the fourth day in a row she hadn't been there to see him, and admittedly, he couldn't help but wonder just what she had been up to. He tried asking her when she'd arrived home a few nights ago, but she hadn't said anything particularly useful.

Maybe that was why Akira's mind was slightly blown when he entered the house, walked down the hall, and saw Miki and Ryo sitting together on the living room couch. Miki was close to him, pointing something out in the catalogue she was holding. Ryo was nodding along, looking mildly confused, but overall content.

"Oh, uh, hi Ryo!" Akira blurted out, unsure of what else to say.

Miki and Ryo's attention snapped up to him, surprise on both of their faces. Ryo tensed up at Akira's entrance, but Miki lit up in excitement, waving her catalogue around.

"Oh, hey Akira!" Miki greeted, jumping up to walk over to him. "I was just showing Ryo some cool make-up adds I saw in the catalogue today. I've been trying to convince him to get us some." She gave Ryo an annoyed side-eye and added on, "He claims he doesn't _need_ make-up to look pretty, though. The jerk."

"Uh," Akira sputtered, so horribly confused. He kept looking back and forth between Miki and Ryo, the latter of which was trying in vain to hide himself on the couch. "What?"

"What's up, Akira?" Miki asked innocently, a familiar mischievous look in her eyes. "Come sit with us! Help me convince Ryo to let me put some make-up on him!"

Ryo, for his part, adamantly refused to say anything, staring pointedly at the wall beside the television. Miki grabbed Akira's arm and pulled him over, plopping herself down besides Ryo and dragging Akira down with her. She held the catalogue out in front of her proudly, thrusting it back into Ryo's face. When neither of the guys even attempted to get a conversation going, she huffed out sigh.

"You guys are going to get all shy around each other just because I'm here, now?"

"It's not that!" Akira responded immediately. He was just stunned, really. There was no way to respond to this. "I just…since when did you two get along?" He stopped to correct himself. "I mean, I'm sorry if you've been friends, I just didn't notice, and I—"

"Akira, that's enough!" Miki patted him on the shoulder, dropping her catalogue in Ryo's lap in the process. "Ryo and I have been trying to get along since we're always around you and everything. It was getting too awkward for us, right?" She nudged Ryo in the side, who finally decided to acknowledge them.

"More like she forced me to get along better with her," he muttered.

Akira, needless to say, was astounded. Had Miki and Ryo been _bonding_ without him? What the hell? Since when was this a thing? Why? Sure, he should be glad that his two closest friends were finally starting to get along, but it was so sudden, and they had done it behind his back! If anything, he thought he would have been the one to get them together, being he was the only reason they even knew each other. Yet they had sought after each other willingly?

Well, there had certainly been much more shocking things happening recently, such as the fact that he was now part demon, so what was Ryo and Miki getting along compared to that? He should get over his shock and celebrate for them! Help Ryo break out of his embarrassed stupor and get the tension in the air under control.

"That's great, guys!" he finally responded, resisting the urge to throw an arm around Miki. "I mean, there's so many things the three of us can do now! You have no idea!"

A smile that Akira knew all too well formed on Miki's face, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was planning. Either way, she conned Ryo into opening back up, and they fell back into their rapt viewing of the catalogue. Ryo would occasionally send nervous glances Akira's way, but he would wave them off, smiling happily for the two.

"So, Miki, anything interesting in there?" he asked, hoping to join their conversation.

"Well, I found a better jacket I'm going to make Ryo buy for himself. We're definitely getting the make-up I was looking at before, and," she glared down at Ryo's pants, "we're getting him new pants. No ifs, ands, or buts about that one."

And the night continued on in a similar fashion to that. Ryo and Miki got into a tiny spat about her insulting his choices in clothing, but Miki, bless her heart, did not back down. Somehow, by the end of the night, the Makimura residence was getting a ridiculous amount of mail-order clothing for Ryo (paid courtesy of Miki through Ryo's own funds). Akira couldn't help but wonder if Miki only befriended Ryo in order to dress him up. He really wouldn't doubt it with how often she commented on his looks.

Ryo stayed to have dinner with the Makimuras before eventually leaving, Miki threatening him with bodily harm if he didn't accept any of the stuff she made him buy once it arrived. It was certainly a…different relationship those two shared, though Akira couldn't say much. He and Miki held a very similar relationship, so it shouldn't have been _that_ shocking. It was still intriguing to see someone like Ryo, cold and serious, being hounded down by Miki and going along with whatever she wanted, regardless of how much he fought along the way.

He would have to wait and see what came of this odd friendship between the two. If it continued on successfully, Akira could admit that he would be thrilled. Anything would be better than the way those two acted around each other before. The only thing he really worried about was how this was brought about. It was so sudden, especially for two people like Miki and Ryo, but what did he know? If all went well, he'd be able to hang out with both of them a lot more often than he did before.

Another day, another demon. While fighting demons might have started off as a burden, they starting to come off as more of a relief than anything. Sometimes, Akira would go for days without having a fight, and the demon within him would cry out for blood. He would become angry and increasingly violent, and while everyone usually shrugged it off—especially those who knew his secret—it still bothered him. There was a time, not so long ago, when he was the meek, almost pacifistic Akira Fudo. Now he was Akira Fudo, cool tough guy and official Devilman. The way he would act, the things he wanted to do sometimes, scared him. Those actions and urges were the demon in him talking. There were days where it was so difficult to distinguish between himself and Amon.

That was why he was so relieved at having to fight something two days in a row. In the past, he would have been bothered by the fact that he was killing so nonchalantly; thoroughly _enjoying_ it. As time went on, his concerns gradually shifted to other things, and now killing was simply second nature. It was a way to keep him at least somewhat like his old self.

Tearing the head straight off of an insectoid looking demon, Akira tossed the carcass to the ground and grimaced at it. His senses weren't picking up any other active demons in the immediate vicinity, and already his body was shifting back to its human form. Once completed, Akira merely sat and stared down at the three demons he had laid waste to. He could never decide if his new attitude after fusing with Amon felt more comforting or unnatural. What did those who knew him before think of him now? What would his parents say if they were still alive and saw him?

Of course, his becoming a Devilman was what caused him and Miki to become even closer, and the demons, in an odd way, brought Ryo back into his life. He cared deeply for both of them and had to be thankful to the demons for at least that, but how real were their relationships? Would Miki have ever grown to love him without the influence of Amon? Would Ryo have ever sought Akira out for help had the demons not killed his father and dragged him into this mess? It was so hard to say, and he knew deep down that he did not want the answers to those questions.

He supposed that had things remained the same between Miki and Ryo, these thoughts would have never arisen in his head. There was an odd feeling of assurance telling him that yes, he would have never doubted himself like this normally, though he wasn't certain where that feeling came from. Either way, he couldn't help but to keep thinking about both Miki and Ryo and their odd actions recently. Would they have ever willingly made the attempt to become friends without Akira? He didn't mean him drawing them closer to himself either. What he truly meant was: did him becoming more violent and demon-like drive them to seek comfort in each other? Did they ever feel afraid of what Akira had become? Did they want to find some sort of familiarity in light of that?

Those thoughts had been pounding through his head nonstop since he saw them together yesterday, hearing about their attempts at getting closer. It had been so out of nowhere that he couldn't help but feel that it was his fault in some way. After all, Ryo had said so himself that Akira was his only friend, and Miki didn't hang out with other people besides Akira all that often. They were the two most important people in Akira's life, and he knew he was one of the most important people in Miki's life and the _only_ person in Ryo's. The only thing he could think of was that they saw just how much he had changed and ran off to each other.

Sure, he kept trying to tell himself how great it was that they were getting along. It was fine, really! Yet those incessant insecurities of his kept surfacing. Perhaps that was the real reason he had been so eager to get into a fight that day. He was confused and upset, and of course the demon blood in him turned that into violent, angry urges. So, he shredded his insecurities away through the blood and guts of a few demons. Maybe, just maybe, once all of this was over, things could return to how they used to be. Once he tore his way through the demons and ripped their leader to shreds (as brutally as he possibly could, just for emphasis), he could sit comfortably as himself with both Miki and Ryo. Would they still want to be around him after everything, though?

Akira put a hand to his face, hiding his grimace. Really, he should be focusing more on what needs to be done to take care of the demons once and for all. It didn't matter if suddenly Miki and Ryo were scared away by him, because he was working towards making the world safer for them. Nearly every day he risked his life in order to take out a threat to humanity, and that was all he should be worrying about. Besides, Ryo tried to help him out with the demon hunting as often as he could, and showed no little amount of enthusiasm while doing so. By that logic, he couldn't have possibly been driving Ryo away, but what did he know?

"Akira!"

The shout of his name brought him out of his thoughts. He lowered his hand, looking up as his best friend approached him. Ryo was by himself, Akira noted, hand tentatively reaching for the inside of his jacket (likely for a gun). The fact that he was out of breath tipped Akira off that he had ran a good distance to reach him.

"Are you okay?" Ryo asked, glancing around to make sure all the demons near Akira were dead.

Akira did his best to give a confident smile. Ryo couldn't be afraid of him. He wouldn't have bothered showing up and being concerned about him otherwise. Right?

With a soft, inaudible laugh, he answered, "Yeah. They were weaker demons. Seemed kind of annoyed that I interrupted whatever they were doing. But hey, you're getting pretty good at sensing them from far away, Ryo!" he mentioned, then stopped to motion to the demon carcasses. "You were a little late this time, though."

"Yeah, I noticed," Ryo replied, frowning. He finally put his arms down in a relaxed position. "You haven't had any issues against the demons since Siren and Jinmen, so I guess me being late isn't too much of a problem."

"Heh, yeah. Jinmen wasn't even that difficult to defeat after I got over those faces on the back of his shell," Akira shrugged. He glanced around at the demon carcasses once more. "I suppose we should head out of here before something weird happens."

"Right," Ryo responded, pausing to think something over. His eyes flicked off to the side before he subtly nodded at himself. "I was with Miki when I felt the demons' presences. I told her to stay back while I went to check it out. You should come back with me and the three of us can hang out together."

Akira took a moment to realize what Ryo had just offered, and he felt his heart light up. The tension in his shoulders, having been there since he finished fighting, loosened.

He could feel himself smiling as he replied. "Yeah, I'd love to." He glanced down at his bare body, being covered by a partial transformation as Devilman. "I'll need an extra set of clothes, first. Just wait here while I fly back to Miki's to grab some!" he said, already turning on his heel to form wings and take to the air.

As he flew back towards the Makimura residence, Akira couldn't help the grin on his face. Yes, he understood that just because Ryo invited him to hang out with Miki didn't necessarily mean that all of his worries could be washed away. After all, he could have been doing it out of sympathy. Keep the crazy demon man in line and all. Still, Akira also knew that he was being irrational. In the span of a single day, all of his confidence in his friends had plummeted. How could Miki and Ryo hanging out cause such a drastic change in Akira's outlook? Miki had given Akira her full support upon learning the truth of his demon side, and Ryo had been there for him since day one.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, Akira landed at the Makimura residence, hoping none of them would be around to see him walk in butt-naked. If anything, Akira could try to judge how Miki and Ryo felt about him after hanging out with them that day. Nothing had felt off yesterday when they were on the couch and during dinner, but who knew. Miki didn't try to hide her opinions; everything she said and the way she acted towards someone was with complete and total honesty. Ryo never made any attempts at hiding his dislike and discomfort around others as well, which was why Akira (and now Miki) was his only friend. So really, he should have known everything from yesterday, but just to calm his nerves, he would still be wary around them. Just in case.

Neither of Miki's parents had been home, and he had heard Tare playing in his room, so he had been safe to reach his own room and get some clothes on. With that, he flew out to meet back up with Ryo. He could start his observations with Ryo, but the true test would come once they met up with Miki. Akira wanted to see how the two truly acted around each other. How they both interacted around him. Would they exclude him? Ignore him entirely?

Despite Akira's doubts, Ryo still greeted him warmly, smile on his face. Needing to replace his doubts with some familiarity, Akira put a hand to his shoulder, and they joked around about the situation. Dead demons no unknowing human could see in the streets, Akira flying around like a naked lunatic, Ryo waiting on said naked lunatic. It was nice, but Akira's thoughts continued to war with themselves. Nothing was wrong, and yet everything was wrong. He wished it would just stop, and yet those thoughts refuse to leave him. Even as the two walked down the street, Akira trailing slightly behind Ryo, he couldn't help but remain silent.

"Is something wrong, Akira?" Ryo finally asked him, worry on his face.

That brought Akira pause. "Oh, it's nothing!" he tried to hide his surprise, giving Ryo wide eyes regardless. "I've just been thinking too hard lately, you know?"

Ryo's face hardened as he stared ahead, and Akira desperately wished he would turn to look at him. As much as he hated it, Ryo had a tendency to always avoid eye contact with people.

"I'm sorry," Ryo murmured, and Akira had to force himself to keep walking after that.

"What?" Akira let loose some nervous laughter. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Everything, Akira." Ryo shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket, shoulders tense as his gaze fell to the sidewalk. "I know you hate that you've had to fuse with a demon; that you hate having to fight them."

Okay, that had not been what Akira was expecting.

"No, Ryo, that's not…" he trailed off, because wasn't that exactly the issue? His thoughts had been drifting in that direction all day, after all. If he had never become a demon, if he didn't have to fight the demons, then Ryo and Miki wouldn't…he wouldn't have so many doubts about them. He sighed, gaining the nerve to just admit what was wrong. If he didn't, Ryo was going to start thinking that all of this was _his_ fault, and Akira didn't want that.

Reaching out, he grabbed Ryo's arm and forced him to stop walking. They both stood there as Ryo finally turned to look at Akira. He was still noticeably avoiding eye contact, and Akira wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. It was times like these that he really, _really_ wished Miki were there. She could have simply slapped some sense into both of their insecure asses.

"Ryo, this is," he paused, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "This is about you and Miki. I keep thinking that I'm scaring you guys off. I have been since I saw you two together, yesterday."

At that, Ryo finally met his eyes, brow lifted in confusion.

"Akira, why would you think that? I brought you into this mess, didn't I? Why would I be scared of you?"

"Because maybe I turned out worse than you thought I would! What if you think I'm going to hurt you, or kill you? You know how I get when I haven't fought anything in a while."

Tentatively, Ryo pulled his hands out of his pockets, placing them on Akira's shoulders. His eyes fell to the side, eye contact lost. "Yeah, at first I was scared of you. Back in my basement, when you first became a Devilman. I saw you destroying indiscriminately, and I was worried you were going to kill everyone, not just the demons. But I know that's not the case now."

Akira didn't know what it was about Ryo, but the two of them always got overly emotional around each other. That being said, it didn't surprise him when the both of them started tearing up over nothing. He cursed himself for always letting it happen. Again, Miki should have been there to knock some sense into them. Seeing two guys nearly crying in the middle of the sidewalk was a bit embarrassing. Miki would have been so annoyed.

"Someone needs to protect humanity, Akira, and I know now that you're the one destined to do that. You've proven yourself multiple times already. Why would I be scared off by you now of all times?"

Akira bit his lip, lifting a hand to wipe his eyes. Ryo noticed this action and removed one of his hands from Akira's shoulder to do the same with his own. Still, Akira was smiling tentatively.

"It's just that, you and Miki started hanging out so suddenly. I was trying to rationalize why, because I knew you two didn't like each other, and my mind just went to you guys being scared off by me," he admitted.

Ryo frowned at this, wiping his eyes again. His other hand left Akira's shoulder, and he crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes glued to Akira's feet, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but then shut it right away.

"What is it?" Akira asked, wanting Ryo to open up to him in return.

Glancing back up at Akira for just a second, Ryo hugged his arms closer to himself. "The reason Miki and I got together—" he stopped himself, shaking his head. "The reason we became friends is kind of the opposite of what you think."

At his slip up, Akira stared at Ryo wordlessly. _What?_ "You and Miki are _together_? Like, _dating_ together?"

Finally, Ryo brought his head back up, eyes wide with worry. "No!" he blurted out. "We're not. We want—" Ryo was cutting himself off a lot that day. "It was Miki's idea. We both—" Now he was spluttering, jamming his eyes shut and head back down. His shoulders were tense, arms hugging himself tightly.

Akira was at a loss. Okay, so whatever was going on, he had been _far_ off the mark. Just what the hell had Miki and Ryo been doing lately? Not for the last time, Akira found himself wishing Miki was there. Not only did she know what was going on, but she was far less awkward than Ryo and would have been able to just tell him the answer. Or she would give Akira that mischievous smile of hers and tell him he'd have to wait and find out. So really, both Ryo and Miki would likely be no help.

"So, are you two not together, then?" Akira asked, hoping to get something out of his best friend. If Miki and Ryo had started dating, he didn't know how he would feel. He had always thought there was something special between him and Miki, but if he had been wrong…

"Miki wants to be with you, Akira," Ryo finally said, albeit almost inaudibly. " _I_ want to…"

Not having caught the last part, Ryo's voice having gone too soft to hear, Akira simply stood there. That didn't answer anything. Did Miki really want to be with him? Why had she been with Ryo so often lately, then?

"Is she going to you for advice or something?" Akira supplied, hoping to get Ryo to open up at least a little more. "I always figured you both knew me equally well."

Once more, Ryo lifted an arm to wipe his eyes, apparently still tearing up. He was silent for so long that Akira figured he wasn't going to answer, but a sudden inhale of breath from Ryo told him otherwise.

"We both like you, Akira." As Akira had done before, Ryo bit his lip, grimacing at what he had said. "Miki says that you like both of us as well, and we wanted to—to get to know and like each other because of that."

Well, now Akira was lost. "Ryo, what are you _talking_ about?"

Ryo stared at him, shoulders still tense. His eyes were getting increasingly red, and Akira vaguely wondered if his own eyes looked like that, though he had not been near tears as long as Ryo.

"Do you really not know?" Ryo asked, shoulders finally loosening up, his arms no longer crossed.

"No?"

For a moment, Akira thought Ryo had begun outright crying, his head ducked back down and his whole body shaking. A hand was to his mouth, and that was when Akira realized what was going on. Removing his hand, Ryo brought his head back and began outright laughing. It wasn't very hard, but it was still enough to confuse Akira even further.

"Okay, Miki was right," Ryo said, his laughing quickly dying down. There were some stray tears from before running down his face. "You're dense as hell."

Akira felt his eye twitch. Worry and confusion were quickly being replaced by annoyance. "Ryo, just tell me what's going on!"

"Miki and I both love you!" Ryo blurted, his laughter all but gone. Eyes still red, he looked winded, almost afraid. "I love you, Akira."


End file.
